It may be hard to believe, but The Walt Disney Company will officially turn 100 on October 16, 2023. Yes, it has been nearly a century since Walt Disney and his brother, Roy, started Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio and began a journey that would impact the lives of millions and millions around the world with movies, TV shows, characters, music, theme parks, and magical moments.
What Is Disney100?
In honor of this momentous occasion, Disney is kicking off its Disney100 celebrations and has chosen Disneyland to be the heart of the party. The Disney100 celebrations began for the public on January 27, and Disney invited IGN and other members of the press to preview everything Disney100-related before then, including Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the brand-new themed food, merchandise, nighttime spectaculars, and more.
This guide will provide everything you need to know about these Disney100 festivities at Disneyland, and it includes our take (and images!) of all the delicious food, pictures and details of the best merchandise, impressions of the new nighttime spectaculars Wondrous Journeys and World of Color - ONE, chats with Disney Imagineers about Disney100 and the history of Disney, and a preview of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Mickey’s Toontown.
I encourage you to watch the videos, click through the slideshows, and share in the comments how you’ll be celebrating Disney100! Additionally, you can read through the entire guide, or click the links below to jump right to the section you’d like to see…
- The Best Disney100 Merchandise That Every Disney Fan Needs to Look Out For
- Wondrous Journeys: A Heartfelt Celebration of Every Disney Animation Studios Movie
- World of Color - ONE: The First Disneyland Spectacular to Feature Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Avengers
- The Disney 100 Years of Wonder Exhibit Is a Walk Down Memory Lane Featuring Disney’s Biggest Attractions and Moments
- Disney100 In Summary: A Party to Kick Off a New Century
Disney100 Food, From the Incredible Violet Pretzel to a Delicious Potato & Cheddar Cheeseburger
One of the best things to do at any Disney park is try all the wonderful and delicious food that you can’t get anywhere else. It’s also a joy each time you go to the park as there is usually some festival or special event that brings with them new options you’ve never tried before, and Disney100 is no different.
For Disney100, Disney has created a menu filled with items that honor the company’s past and aim to tell a story with each bite, and I had the chance to try all but two of them. You can check out my full thoughts and comments from one of the creators behind the menu in our Best Food at Disneyland for Disney100 guide and in the slideshow below, but I wanted to share a few thoughts with you below for some of my favorites.
Hands down, my favorite food item at Disneyland for the Disney100 celebration was the Violet Pretzel at the Refreshment Corner. It was a deliciously soft pretzel stuffed with a wonderful cream cheese frosting, and it was topped with a generous drizzle of salted vanilla cream and lavender sugar. It honestly got better with every bite, and it’s making me sad thinking about it because I can’t have one right now.
I also recommend pairing the pretzel with a Sparkling Grape soda, which is also available at the Refreshment Corner. You may think it would be too much sweetness and sugar, but they actually balance each other out nicely. The soda is very refreshing and it even comes with a sour strip that adds a burst of flavor whenever you need it.
I’d also highly recommend the Potato & Cheddar Cheeseburger at the Hungry Bear Restaurant as it has the most perfect crunch with every bite that is made even better by its gooey but not too messy bacon cheddar sauce and green chilies.
Once again, check out all of my thoughts in our Best Food at Disneyland for Disney100 guide, and be sure to let me know below what your favorites are!
The Best Disney100 Merchandise That Every Disney Fan Needs to Look Out For
We all love the food at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but it’s usually not something we can take with us. Luckily, there is Disney merchandise aplenty just waiting to be added to our collections that are perfect for gifts for loved ones or ourselves.
Disney is honoring its 100th anniversary with a ton of new merch that is inspired by Disney’s earliest days and the platinum and purple-themed Disney100 celebration. I’ve gathered all the best items in our Best Disney 100th Anniversary Merch guide and in the slideshow below, but I wanted to also share a few of my favorites below.
My favorite items are from the Disney100 The Eras Collection, as the first batch of merch looks as if it was pulled right from the 1920s when The Walt Disney Company was just getting started. From a sticky note holder that looks like a Disney-themed typewriter to a light-up memo board that could be confused for something found on a Disney animator’s drawing desk, there is some great creativity and nostalgic charm packed into these items.
While you can get most of these items at ShopDisney.com, the Disney100 Mickey Mouse Sipper was the star of the show during my time walking through Disneyland. This shiny platinum and purple-dressed Mickey Mouse holds your favorite drink and lets you drink it throughout your time at the parks, and it just looks great doing so. These can be found all over the park, and you can even mobile order them to save time!
Wondrous Journeys Nighttime Spectacular: A Heartfelt Celebration of Every Disney Animation Studios Movie
Wondrous Journeys is the all-new nighttime spectacular that first debuted at Disneyland Park on January 27, 2023. This spectacular is a heartfelt tribute to the past 100 years of Walt Disney Animation Studios and features every single animated film ever released from the company. The spectacular also tells an impactful story that more or less charts the hero’s journey with moments from Disney films that feature the ups and downs of life and the power of coming together. It tells its story by including music, key dialogue, and impactful scenes from all these films, and they all work in tandem to tell a cohesive story. It also doesn’t hurt that fireworks accentuate the biggest moments.
For me, this was the highlight of the entire Disney100 kickoff. I have never seen Main Street, U.S.A. come to life like it did during Wondrous Journeys, as the images were projected on the walls of all the buildings down that iconic road. What also makes this spectacular special is how it utilizes so many different parts of the park as part of the show. No matter if you are in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle, on Main Street, over by Rivers of America, or right by It’s a Small World, you are getting to see the spectacular come to life in a fantastic way.
The team behind Wondrous Journeys didn’t just settle with simply including every Disney animated film either, as they mixed and matched them together with new arrangements of the beloved songs to help tell their story.
“What's amazing is that these are not just the cuts from the film,” Roger Gould, creative director for Walt Disney Animation Studios told IGN. “Every one of the songs is re-imagined. One of the most spectacular moments is one where we've taken four different stories. We have Belle, Hercules, Moana, and Quasimodo in a moment when they're all just dreaming of their better tomorrow. Throughout this part of Wondrous Journeys, a beautiful new arrangement interweaves all four of their songs together in an extraordinary way with newly recorded vocals and instrumentation. And then we’re visually illustrating that story on the castle and all around the park.”
As for how they made all these classic movies fit in a way that wasn’t overwhelming, Gould shared that, instead of trying to place the films in chronological order, they chose to do it “emotionally.” It all helped tell the story and also show the evolution of animation, from the very first sketches on a blank page to 2D and 3D animation. That wasn’t all, however, as they also gathered a group of directors, animators, and designers who worked on these classic films and asked them what moment from a Disney movie meant something special to them.
“We actually put together this group of directors, animators, and designers and just sat around at a table and just started with, ‘Well, what was the movie that made you fall in love with animation? Why are you here?’ For me, it was Pinocchio,” Gould said. “I saw it when I was four years old. I had no idea what animation was or how it was made or that it even was made. It hit me like a thunderbolt. So early in the show, you'll see a beautiful piece of pencil animation with Geppetto and Pinocchio. So that's the love letter directly to me. But we asked all of these artists, well, what's that moment for you? If you had to boil all the history of Disney animation down into one shot, what's the one you want see?
“And for someone, it was a shot of Winnie the Pooh, and for someone that was a moment of Snow White and for someone it was a moment of Pongo or from 101 Dalmatians. And then we also talked about quotes. What is that line that just rings in your head and actually inspires you even now to keep making these movies?”
This helped bring Wondrous Journeys to life, and one of the main goals of the spectacular was to invoke those same feelings in the guests. They could have cut down the amount of movies, but that would be discounting those select fans who love even the least popular movies. There may not be as many of them, but they are just as important.
“It was so spread out, it was crazy,” Gould said about trying to fit all the movies into Wondrous Journeys. “I mean, we started putting together literally a spreadsheet. We're like, it's too much. But that's what was so fun, coming to realize that working with these properties around the world is that every film, whether we think of it as the greatest success or most obscure, that's somebody's favorite film.
“So, when we started mapping it out, Jordan Peterson, our show director, was like, ‘We're going to have a serious Treasure Planet moment.’ I was like, ‘We are?’ He's like, ‘Yes.’ That's his film. And there is a phenomenal Treasure Planet moment. I'm so proud of it. But that's what's so fun, is that that's why we wanted every movie represented in some way so people will have the reaction of, ‘Home on the Range, that's my movie! Meet the Robinsons, that’s my movie! Dinosaur, that's my movie!’
"That's why we wanted every movie represented in some way so people will have the reaction of, ‘Home on the Range, that's my movie! Meet the Robinsons, that’s my movie! Dinosaur, that's my movie!’"
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Wondrous Journeys is also meant to be viewed multiple times in those locations listed above, and each place will give you a different experience. While the music and dialogue will be the same, Gould noted that It’s a Small World will be the best place for those who want to “really lean into the story.” Rivers of America is the only location that features surround sound and features “the best audio.” Fans will also want to see the other locations as not every movie is featured everywhere. This helped in putting the spectacular together and not make the show too busy, and will make for nice surprises when you finally catch your favorite Disney movies over the course of the roughly 15-minute runtime.
Oh, and speaking of surprises, be sure to look out for Baymax from Big Hero 6 flying above Sleeping Beauty Castle. It’s just one of so many great parts of Wondrous Journeys.
World of Color - ONE: The First Disneyland Spectacular to Feature Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Avengers
World of Color - ONE is the new nighttime spectacular at Disney California Adventure Park and it first debuted on January 27, 2023. The story of World of Color - ONE, according to Disney itself, is focused on “how a single action - like a drop of water - creates a ripple that can grow into a wave of change.”
This spectacular is unique for a number of reasons, first of all being that it is the first Disneyland spectacular to include Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Avengers moments. Additionally, it takes place on Paradise Bay and features over 1,200 fountains, lights, fog effects, pyrotechnics, and more that are all used in concert to tell the story, while images from the films are projected onto the water fountains.
It’s a powerful show that fits perfectly with Disney100 as it is meant to mirror how Walt Disney started the company 100 years ago and began a wave of change that led to everything Disney offers today. However, even if you don’t get to create a multi-billion dollar company in your lifetime, World of Color - ONE wants to highlight that even small actions we take can have immense impact.
I had the chance to talk to Wendy Ruth, show director at Disney Live Entertainment, and she shared more about the idea of World of Color - ONE and what she and the team want each guest to take away from it.
“I want guests to not only appreciate the beauty and the time that it took to put all of this together, but to walk away with the sense of empowerment that they can make a difference no matter how small,” Ruth said. “It's why Walt Disney is the main example for us. It was Walt's drops of creativity… It was those first steps that Walt took in the many, many ways he did that are the reasons we are all here today. Talk about a ripple effect. So, we want guests to know that. You could be as small as Remy and make a difference by doing something that you love like learning to cook, or you can save the galaxy - it just depends on what comes to your door.”
"We were also really inspired by the closing credits of The Mandalorian."
In regards to Star Wars and Avengers, the team had to find a way to make live-action fit with animation, and they decided the best way was to implement a “bold, graphic approach” to the Avengers segments and a “painterly style” based on original production art from the Star Wars films for those sections.
“With Star Wars, we went back to Ralph McQuarrie's original Star Wars art and the art of many others who have worked in the Star Wars art world,” KC Wilkerson, principal media designer for Disney Live Entertainment at the Disneyland Resort, told IGN. “And we were also really inspired by the closing credits to The Mandalorian. So it's like a storyboard, but more fully rendered than a storyboard. And so we thought if we can come up with an artistic approach like that, it will help bridge the animation segments to the live-action ones.
“And then, what do we do about Avengers? I watched Hawkeye, and Hawkeye had the end credits with that really bold, graphic novel style. And Avengers is kind of my baby. So that's the segment that has my fingerprints on it. And it was just so much fun to be inspired by that and then to bring everything out here and bring it to life in that way.”
World of Color - ONE is a really impressive show, especially when it incorporates all of Paradise Bay, like the Incredicoaster’s lights alongside some of the biggest moments from our favorite franchises (including Sam Wilson saying, “On your left,” and two lightsabers igniting into the sky with water and lights and sound).
The biggest issue with World of Color - ONE, however, is your enjoyment may vary depending on the weather. During our preview, the wind was especially powerful and cut off many of the images that were designed to be displayed on the water fountains. The Avengers section, in particular, was very hard to see. Luckily, it doesn’t get that windy very often in Anaheim, but it’s something to consider.
Disneyland’s Version of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Toontown’s Reopening
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway has been open at Walt Disney World since 2020 and, with the start of the Disney100 celebrations, Disneyland guests will now have a chance to ride this second version of the first Mickey Mouse-themed ride-through attraction at any Disney park.
The ride is based on the world of the recent Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts and, according to Disney, combines “physical sets, Audio-Animatronics figures, animated media and projection-mapping techniques, all synced with trackless vehicles and a jaunty musical score.”
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway takes place inside the El CapiTOON Theater at Mickey’s Toontown, and the ride begins with the premiere of a new Mickey Mouse cartoon short called “Perfect Picnic.” Things quickly get out of hand, and guests are taken on a wild ride on a train led by Engineer Goofy.
Throughout the ride, guests will run into Pluto, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, Pete, and a new little bird named Chuuby that was created specifically for Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. The adventure will feature a tornado, a trip through the countryside and city, a simulated fall down a waterfall, a jaunt to the wild west, and more as Mickey and Minnie attempt to save you and get the train back on track so they can have their perfect picnic.
The ride itself is nearly identical to the one found at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World, but the queue is where Disneyland’s Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway really sets itself apart. Inside the El CapiTOON Theater, guests will get to see a special exhibit created by the Toontown Hysterical Society called “Mickey Through the ‘Ears,” and it celebrates Mickey’s past, meaning there will be something for Disney fans of all ages to discover as they are moving through the line.
“When you enter the queue, you start with Steamboat Willie and then, as you progress, you get to see the different eras of Mickey Mouse that ends with the new style of the cartoon we see today,” Sarah Kibler, an Imagineer and interior designer on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, told IGN. “So, every person can walk through and say, ‘Oh! I remember that short!’ or ‘That one’s my favorite!’ So, that’s something really special about this ride. It can also bring families together to share that common love of Mickey. It’s timeless.”
The queue also features some pretty fun posters, including parodies like The Mouseketeer, which sees Mickey dressed up as the classic Disney character from The Rocketeer, or Chip, Dale, Daisy, and Donald starring in one poking fun at The Parent Trap with The Chipmunk Trap.
I won’t spoil everything here, but you can check out the slideshow below to see even more of the queue, including the adorable concessions stand filled with Easter Eggs.
Speaking of Easter Eggs, Disney shared with us a few more that fans should keep an eye out for, and I’ve included them here:
- A newspaper features the headline “Oswald Wins!” – a reference to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the cartoon character created by Walt Disney that predates Mickey Mouse.
- The Iwerks and Uwerks Waterworks water treatment plant is named for Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, the animator credited with sketching Mickey Mouse for the first time.
- The 1401 Flower Shop is an homage to Walt Disney Imagineering’s headquarters in Glendale, Calif.
- The numbers 1901 and 1928 can be seen inside the attraction; these are references to Walt Disney’s and Mickey Mouse’s birth years, respectively.
- A poster in the carnival scene references “5 for a Dime” tickets, a nod to the former Mickey’s Toontown Five & Dime shop.
- Popcorn in the El CapiTOON Theater’s concession stand is shaped like Mickey, Minnie and Donald. The candy includes nods to favorite cartoons ranging from the Silly Symphony “The Grasshopper and the Ants” to cult classic “A Goofy Movie.”
- The concession stand’s condiment pumps are branded “Begorra Orchards” – a reference to Patrick Begorra, the storied “Little Man of Disneyland” who, according to the 1955 Little Golden Book of that name, lived in an orange orchard on the land that Disneyland Park now sits on, and who now lives in the roots of a Disneyland tree.
- Sharp-eyed guests may notice that posters in the El CapiTOON Theater’s foyer include cameos by rarely seen Disney characters, including Mortimer Mouse, Donald Duck’s costars in “DuckTales,” Minnie Mouse’s nieces, Mickey Mouse’s nephews and Max Goof’s classmates in “A Goofy Movie.”
As we previously mentioned, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and the El CapiTOON Theater live in Mickey’s Toontown in Disneyland, which is set to reopen on March 19, 2023. This new land is a great place to bring your kids, and the redesign put a big focus on creating open, grassy spaces for kids to run around and have fun in a safe, contained area.
“There's going to be more play,” Jeff Shaver-Moskowitz, portfolio executive producer at Walt Disney Imagineering, told us. “There's going to be more places for guests to relax, open green spaces for kids to run out their energy. A day at Disneyland, it could be tough for kids, right? You're in a stroller, you're being helped by your parents, you're always being led by hand, ‘Don't go here, stand in line, etc.’ We wanted Toontown to be an open play space for all these kids to be able to run and enjoy a day in the park.
“We also have a dreaming tree in Toontown inspired by Walt's dreaming tree in Marceline, Missouri. It features some climbing roots and green spaces to sit and have a picnic under a tree in Disneyland, and that was our dream. We've got this amazing interactive fountain too, which stars Mickey and Minnie. And our fountain, for the first time, is going to invite guests to come and play and touch the water and be a spectacular light and sound show all through the day, and [it will be] really, really beautiful at night. It's kind of a kiss goodnight for kids who may not make it to fireworks and may fall asleep before that. This is going to be their moment.”
The Disney 100 Years of Wonder Exhibit Is a Walk Down Memory Lane Featuring Disney’s Biggest Attractions and Moments
January 27 was the official kick-off of Disney 100, but it is only the beginning as there will be new foods, merchandise, and experiences popping up throughout the year and beyond to keep the celebration of The Walt Disney Company going.
One of the biggest things guests can look forward to in the near future is the return of the “Magic Happens” parade on February 24, 2023. This parade features characters, music, and floats inspired by Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios and actually first debuted just about 14 days before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the parks. Now, nearly three years later, fans will have the chance to see it again.
To end our guide, however, I very much wanted to highlight The Disney Gallery Presents: Disney 100 Years of Wonder exhibit at the building that also houses the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln attraction on Main Street, U.S.A. This exhibit is a walk down memory lane of the biggest attractions and moments in Disney’s 100-year history.
Guests will be able to see concept art and learn more about their favorite attractions and lands, from Snow White’s Enchanted Wish to Peter Pan’s Flight to Galaxy’s Edge to Cars Land to Pirates of the Caribbean and everything in between. It also includes the actual park bench from the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round in Los Angeles, where Walt Disney “first dreamed of Disneyland.”
What is Disney 100 Years of Wonder?
The exhibit is a celebration of Disney’s storied history, and one of the centerpieces is a glassed-off room that features a recreation of old storyboards, an animator's desk, a multiplane camera, and more. It’s a glimpse into the past and into how some of our favorite movies were made, and we had the honor of speaking about this milestone and exhibit with Disney legend Kim Irvine, who has worked at Walt Disney Imagineering for over 52 years and now serves as the director of concept design at the company.
Irvine’s first job at Disney was painting dolls for It’s a Small World for Walt Disney World in the 1970s, but her experience with the company began way before that as her mom, Leota Tombs, was a famous Imagineer who was integral to the creation of Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Country Bear Jamboree, and many more. Tombs is even the facial model for Madame Leota in Haunted Mansion - the floating head in the crystal ball in the attraction.
I spoke to Irvine about her illustrious family, including her dad, Harvey Toombs, who was an animator at Disney.
“Well, I think the very beginnings of my love for Disney was when my dad was an animator,” Irvine told IGN. “He would work at home a lot of times, and I would hear him in there sharpening his pencils and flipping those papers back and forth, and such. And that's how I learned to draw. I'd sit on his lap and trace over the animation paper when he was drawing.”
Toombs passed away in 1968, but Irvine is keeping his memory alive with the work she continues to do for the company, and you can see that legacy on display in the Disney 100 exhibit right alongside the animators desk, storyboards, and more. She included his drawings of Dumbo that she so cherishes, further symbolizing why Disney is so special not just for those who love what it creates, but also for those working inside the company.
It’s hard to define the magic of growing up as a Disney fan and then taking your kids to experience the moments you hold dear. Hearing Irvine’s story just reinforces that the power of Disney starts with its creators.
Irvine also discussed what it was like working as an Imagineer all those years ago, and how the philosophy of what it means to be an Imagineer still holds strong today.
“When I started there, the model shop was like 50 people, and the art directors, John Hench, Mary Blair, and Marc Davis, were down there every day working along with everybody on their specific parts,” Irvine told us. “We had one area where Rolly Crump was directing Tiki Room stuff and Mary was doing Small World, and it was like a big happy family. It always reminded me of Santa's workshop, where all the elves were just working together on big tables. And when we started the WDI Anaheim office, we used that as my model: that we all need to work together, be very close, and stay in touch throughout the whole process.”
Disney100 In Summary: A Party to Kick Off a New Century
And that, my friends, is Disney100. Well, the beginning of it anyway. There are so many ways to celebrate alongside Disney, and I hope this guide gives you a better idea of what you can expect if you are planning a trip to the happiest place on Earth.
From speaking to Imagineers, cast members, and guests during my time at the Disney100 kickoff, one thing was made clear - this 100-year milestone is but another chapter in the ever-evolving story of The Walt Disney Company. There are so many more surprises in store for fans and, while we may not know what they are yet, we know they will have the capability to find a special place in our hearts that we will be able to share with our loved ones for generations to come.
Disney is magic, and I thought I'd end this guide with one more story from KC Wilkerson, who summed up why these 100 years have been so special for Disney fans of all ages and have endured where others have not.
“In 2000, we created a holiday firework show for Disneyland called Believe in Holiday Magic,” Wilkerson told IGN. “And at that time I was a technical director and we were the first to do a large-scale snowfall at the end of a show.
“So, we had been open for a few days. I was on Main Street and was walking towards Christmas Tree Point where the Main Street Christmas tree is, and there was an elderly couple, probably the age that my grandparents could have been, holding hands. It's like, sure, older people holding hands is cute to begin with. But the gentleman is smiling, looking up at the snow with all the Christmas lights, Disney magic, and everything else happening at once. The woman is also smiling, and she had tears running down her cheeks as they embraced in this magical moment.
“And I thought, you know what, this is music, this is Christmas lights, and this is Disney. We're not really telling much of a story here. What we're doing is creating space for people to tell their own stories back to themselves. And I thought, that is incredible. It's a memory that has stayed with me ever since then.”
That’s Disney magic personified for a couple that serves as a stand-in for so many other people’s stories, including my own. As we were told in Cinderella, “A dream is a wish your heart makes,” and Disney is all about making those dreams come true and creating those core memories for all of us, from becoming a Disney Princess for a day to actually walking through that galaxy far, far away to seeing the sparkle in your childrens’ eyes as they relive the Disney moments you so cherished as a kid, and so many more that are just waiting to happen.
Thank you, Disney, for everything, and here’s to 100 years plus infinity more.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
